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Records of the thermal-age path of orogenic rocks are crucial in understanding subduction and collisional processes between a continent and an arc. Tectonic events and thermochronological data of the Taiwan Orogen have been extensively investigated. We use the zircon U Pb youngest ages as the (initial) subduction age, the Raman Spectroscopy of Carbonaceous Material, 40Ar/39Ar age of mica porphyroblasts, whole-rock Lu Hf isochron age and thermal results as prograde peak metamorphic condition during subduction and basal accretion, and the apatite fission-track data for cooling age of the Taiwan Orogen to illuminate the subduction and collisional processes between the Eurasian Plate and the Luzon Arc. The Hsuehshan Range Nappe in the west of the Taiwan Orogen, whose subduction was initiated at 12 Ma, reached peak metamorphism with a temperature of ~250 °C to 490 °C at a depth of 8 km during the interval 6–2.5 Ma, mainly by basal superimposed accretion. The isothermal dwelling during peak metamorphism condition of the Hsuehshan Range suggests that tectonic underplating through basal superimposed accretion contribute significantly to the formation of the Taiwan Orogen, and led to a sudden increase of subduction and décollement depths, and slow downward thickening of the orogenic wedge and mountain root growth. Located in the east of the Taiwan Orogen, the Yuli Beltsubduction was initiated at 15.4–16 Ma, and attained peak metamorphism at a depth of 40 km, with a temperature of 550–560 °C and a pressure of 10.5–13 kbar during the interval 12.2–4.4 Ma due to basal superimposed accretion. The exhumation of the Hsuehshan Range commenced at ~2.5 Ma, which is later than that of the Yuli Belt at ~3.4 Ma. Such distinct and different thermal-age paths of the Hsuehshan Range and the Tananao Complex indicate that different tectonic wedges in the Taiwan Orogen are formed through different subduction and accretional processes. [Display omitted] • The different tectonic wedges in the Taiwan Orogen have the different thermal-age paths. • The different thermal-age paths of the Hsuehshan Range and the Tananao Complex indicate that they are formed through different subduction and accretional processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late Cenozoic changes in the intensity of the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) are reconstructed using both terrestrial and marine proxy records; however, proxies from terrestrial (e.g., loess, pollen, and pedogenic isotopes) and marine environments (e.g., foraminifer assemblages and geochemistry) commonly display large discrepancies both in the direction and timing of changes in the EASM. In part, these discrepancies reflect long-term changes in paleogeography that are independent of climate variations. We assess the influence of a rapidly uplifting orogen on EASM records by comparing temporally constrained gamma-ray, δ13C org , hematite/goethite, and magnetic susceptibility records from Late Miocene–Early Pleistocene strata of the Taiwan Western Foreland Basin to time-equivalent EASM proxy records in the South China Sea (SCS). Prior to the emergence of modern Taiwan (∼6.3–5.4 Ma), sediment in the SCS was largely derived from Eurasia and transported into the Pacific Ocean. Following its emergence and southwest migration of the collision zone ∼5.4 Ma, proto-Taiwan became a major sediment source to the SCS. The uplift and southwest migration of Taiwan and northwest migration of the Luzon volcanic arc resulted in the formation of southwest-flowing deep- (1500–2500 m water depth) and bottom-water (>2500 m water depth) currents and the SCS Branch of the Kuroshio Current. Together these currents transported sediment from Taiwan towards the SCS. Increased sediment input from Taiwan is recorded as a decline in hematite/goethite values in sediment records from the northern and central SCS. By ∼3.2 Ma, continued southwest migration and growth of the Taiwan orogen resulted in the formation of the Taiwan Warm Current, which remobilized some sediment from Taiwan towards the East China Sea. Despite strengthening of deep-water currents during the Late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene, relative sediment input from Taiwan to the wider SCS decreased. Consequently, relative contributions from Eurasia and Luzon increased. In the southern SCS, where the Mekong River has dominated sedimentation since the Late Miocene, proxy records show no influence from the Taiwan orogen and instead reflect environmental changes in Mainland Southeast Asia driven mainly by monsoon variability. Our results show that a rapidly uplifting orogen has the potential to significantly impact paleoclimate records >1000 km away from the collision zone. This highlights the influence of shifting sediment sources on paleoclimate proxy records, which must be considered in interpreting past climate change from the sedimentary record. • Taiwan orogenesis is linked to South China Sea climate proxies. • Rapid orogenesis can drive shifts in sediment source and ocean currents. • Tectonic activity is the dominant control on proxies prior to ∼3 Ma. • After ∼3 Ma, proxies reflect enhanced monsoon strength related to glaciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The offshore basins in the East Asian Continental Shelf have undergone distinct tectono-geomorphic-sedimentary evolution since the Neogene, driven by complex interactions between tectonic and surface Earth processes. However, the contribution of the latter to the evolution of the offshore basins has been less studied. The landscape simulation software Badlands serves as an ideal tool to investigate the impacts of tectonic and surface processes on sedimentation as it simulates the sediment routing in a source-to-sink context. Focusing on the southern East China Sea Basin (ECSB) and the northern South China Sea Shelf Basin (SCSSB), two key components of the East Asian Continental Shelf, we used Badlands to reconstruct the tectono-geomorphic-sedimentary evolution since the Neogene. It revealed two-phase evolutionary processes: (1) the southern ECSB and the northern SCSSB were in the unified shelf environment and represented as an integral during the Early Miocene, though the northern SCSSB experienced anomalous subsidence due to the southward jump of the SCS mid-ocean ridge. The integrated southern ECSB and northern SCSSB experienced uplift and denudation since the Middle Miocene, under the influence of the Philippine Sea Plate extrusion. (2) Subsequently, the southern ECSB and the northern SCSSB were separated into two independent basins in the Late Miocene, when Taiwan Island was significantly uplifted due to the Philippine Sea Plate extrusion and the arc-continental collision. Then Taiwan Island experienced a multi-stage uplift characterized by southward and westward migration. It concluded that tectonics (i.e. Taiwan Orogeny and the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate) primarily dominated the differential evolution of the southern ECSB and the northern SCSSB. Surface Earth processes (i.e. the intensification of the East Asian Monsoon and the sea-level fluctuation) are the secondary contributors. • The southern ECSB and the northern SCSSB were an integral during the early Miocene. • The integral was divided into two independent basins due to Taiwan Orogeny. • Taiwan orogeny is characterized by diachronous westward and southward migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To clarify the deep structure of the Taiwan Orogen formed by the collision between the Eurasian and the Philippine Sea plates, we determine a robust 3-D shear-wave velocity (Vs) model of the crust and upper mantle beneath the Taiwan Island and its surrounding regions by applying a novel joint inversion method to local and teleseismic P and S wave travel times, Rayleigh-wave phase velocities and S-wave receiver functions. A notable new feature revealed by our model is the morphologic variation of the subducting Eurasian slab along the orogen belt. Beneath South Taiwan, the subducting Eurasian slab is imaged as a continuous high-Vs zone down to ∼400 km depth with an obvious dip angle change at ∼70 km depth. Beneath Central Taiwan, the Eurasian slab is imaged as intermittent high-Vs anomalies in the upper mantle, whereas the Eurasian slab exhibits as a sheet-like high-Vs zone with a low dip angle down to only ∼100 km depth beneath North Taiwan. These results suggest that parts of the subducting Eurasian slab have been detached beneath the Philippine Sea east off the Taiwan Island, which may result in the remnant slab rebounding to underplate the upper plate and so promote mountain building on the Taiwan Island. • A 3-D Vs model of the Taiwan Orogen is derived from 4 kinds of seismic data. • Shape variations of the Eurasian slab are revealed along the orogen belt. • Parts of the Eurasian slab are detached beneath the Taiwan Orogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metamorphic P–T trajectories of high –P rocks can well constrain the exhumation mechanism of rocks and thermal structure in a subduction zone. The Yuli Belt in eastern Taiwan is regarded as an ophiolitic mélange related to the subduction of the South China Sea Plate beneath the Philippine Sea Plate, but the metamorphic evolution of the high –P rocks therein is still controversial. Two glaucophane schists from the Tamayen block in the Yuli Belt, are chosen for detailed studies of petrography, mineral composition and phase equilibria modelling, and addressing the metamorphic evolution. The glaucophane schists show coarse-grained amphibole porphyroblasts that distribute randomly in a matrix consisting of amphibole, epidote, garnet, phengite, chlorite, albite and quartz. Amphibole porphyroblasts are characterized by core–mantle–rim zoning from sodic-, calcic- to sodic-amphiboles. Three metamorphic stages are recognized, involving prograde to the peak, post-peak decompression and subsequent cooling. The prograde to the peak stage is constrained to occur in lawsonite- and omphacite-bearing assemblages with the peak conditions of 2.1–2.3 GPa/530–560 °C on the basis of the garnet zoning and the maximum Si content in phengite. The post-peak decompression was first dominated by dehydration reactions with the expense of lawsonite and omphacite and producing glaucophane, followed by decompression in fluid-absent fields to 0.6–0.9 GPa/500–550 °C with the growth of calcic amphibole. The subsequent cooling is inferred from the regrowth of glaucophane that rims amphibole porphyroblasts. The glaucophane schists share clockwise P–T trajectories with evident isothermal decompression, and the peak conditions correspond to a low geothermal gradient of ∼250 °C/GPa, representing the metamorphic evolution within a mature subduction zone. The high- P rocks in the Yuli Belt experienced two exhumation stages: firstly, the rocks were isothermally exhumed via a matured subduction channel from ∼70 km to ∼30 km depth and incorporated into the base of the accretional wedge during 12–9 Ma; and then, further exhumation occurred through thrusting and erosion in response to the arc-continent collision started from ∼6 Ma. • Glaucophane schists (Taiwan Orogen) show peak P-T conditions of 2.1–2.3 GPa/530–560 °C. • They experienced a post-peak isothermal decompression to 0.6–0.9 kbar/500–550 °C. • They were firstly exhumed along subduction channel and then uplifted via thrusting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposed in the Coastal Range of eastern Taiwan is a portion of the Luzon volcanic arc that has collided with the South China continent since 6 Ma, as well as syn-orogenic sedimentary rocks deposited on the arc and subsequently intensely folded and thrusted. This study sampled syn-orogenic mudstones for the measurement of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) at four sites on the sides of the range. The AMS fabrics reveal a contribution from burial compaction and, less significantly, tectonic shortening which varies slightly across the range. This lateral variation is considered as, for simplicity, a result of two-phase deformation because these rocks were involved in an eastward propagating back thrust system on the colliding arc. A new strain analysis method is developed to estimate the overall tectonic strain by unstraining the pseudo-strains with respect to the AMS measurements at each site with the knowledge about the distribution of the susceptibility ellipsoids in the unstrained state. Strain results reveal that shortening phases occurred before and after the folding, with a shortening ratio of 0.177–0.195 and 0.181–0.248, respectively. The post-folding shortening on the western side is sub-parallel to the range, and the pre-folding shortening on both sides is layer-parallel and nearly perpendicular to the range. Therefore, the mudstones underwent layer-parallel shortening, fold-related tilting and eventually orogen-parallel shortening after deposition. This sheds light on the complexity in deformation of the colliding Luzon arc. • Syn-orogenic mudstones in eastern Taiwan have composite magnetic fabrics. • A new method is developed to estimate strain from AMS data at a site. • Luzon arc mudstones underwent shortening before and after folding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better understand the establishment of subduction zones, considerable effort is required regarding various factors, such as the time of subduction initiation and the age of the slab's lithosphere. In this study, adakitic dikes (ca. 17.3 Ma: ε Nd of 7.4–7.9 and 206Pb/204Pb of 18.27–18.42) were recognized to crystallize along with the normal and enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (N- and E-MORB)-like oceanic crust (ca. 17.8–14.1 Ma: ε Nd of 8.8–13.3 and 206Pb/204Pb of 17.71–18.22) in the East Taiwan Ophiolite (ETO). Given that the outcropping in ultramafic sequence, the distinct Nd–Pb isotopes, and the slight precedence than corresponding arc volcanism (≤ ca. 14.1 Ma), the origins of the ETO adakitic dikes are related to amphibolite-facies melting of the subducted slab beneath the Luzon forearc spreading center during subduction initiation. In this respect, we conclude that the sparsely exposed but isotopically heterogeneous E-MORB-type rocks (ε Nd of 8.8–10.2 and 206Pb/204Pb of 18.06–18.22) are Nb-enriched basalts and relate to the Nb-enriched slab melts derived from further melting of the hot eclogitic residuum of the young South China Sea subducted slab. In addition, the isotopic diversity of N-MORB-like samples can be attributed to the diking of adakitic and Nb-enriched slab melts beneath the Luzon forearc spreading center. Combined with the previously reported early Miocene uplift of the Zambales Ophiolite in the western Luzon, we infer an early Miocene induced-subduction initiation of the South China Sea and the delayed near-trench spreading of the Luzon forearc by <5 Myr. Compared to the absence of Nb-enriched slab melts and >20 Myr subducted slab in the genesis of the in-situ Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) forearc and the voluminous Nb-enriched rocks and ca. 0 Myr subducted slab of the Central Palawan–Amnay ophiolites, the sparse Nb-enriched rocks and <15 Myr subducted slab of the ETO sequence invoke the governing factor of slab's lithosphere age during subduction initiation magmatism. We propose that the lack of Nb-enriched slab melts in the forearc chemostratigraphy of the Oman Ophiolite may indicate the subduction initiation of an old and cold oceanic plate. • Coeval adakitic & Nb-enriched dikes expose in the forearc-type East Taiwan Ophiolite. • Mid-Miocene East Taiwan Ophiolite is representative fragments of the Luzon forearc. • Luzon forearc was due to South China Sea Early Miocene induced-subduction initiation. • Slab's crystallization age is governing factor of subduction initiation magmatism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]